US scientists identify breast cancer biomarkers

12/11/2007

An American research team says it has found a way to flag up the risk of breast cancer by using a sophisticated diagnosis system.

Scientists from the University of California San Francisco used biomarkers to predict the risk for invasive breast cancer years before the tumour developed, potentially offering an improved chance of survival by catching the disease in the early stages.

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Published in the November issue of Cancer Cell, the findings could help determine if a woman should receive more aggressive therapy depending on the markers, or if they were less likely to develop subsequent invasive cancer after initial diagnosis of a non-invasive form.

Figures show that between 12 and 15 per cent of women who are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is linked to milk ducts, go on to develop an invasive cancer event within a decade.

Until now, however, scientists had found it hard to predict which women would fall into this group and which would not.

Using these biomarkers, lead author Dr Thea D Tlsty said it would be possible to identify 'women's individual risk for subsequent invasive tumours and avoid over- and under- treatment'.

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